Ultrasound-assisted extractive-catalytic removal of micro-organic pollutants in liquid hydrocarbon fuels using highly active ZnO nanoparticles supported zinc-substituted phosphotungstate

Abstract

To produce ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), it is necessary to remove compounds such as 2-methylthiophene and 3-methylthiophene that cannot be isolated by conventional industrial methods. This paper presents, a phosphotungstate catalyst improved with zinc atoms placed on the surface of super active zinc oxide nanoparticles and is able to switch between two phases using a hydrophobic ionic liquid (transfer agent). Here, is a description of the synthesis of the α-keggin type hybrid nanocatalyst and its application for the removal of 2- methylthiophene and 3-methylthiophene. The nanocatalyst was subjected to various characterization techniques, including Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) Surface Area Analysis, Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) pore size and volume analysis and Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis(EDAX). The optimized conditions for the ultrasound-assisted extractive-catalytic oxidative desulfurization (UA-ECODS) process were determined using a statistical design, specifically the Box-Behnken design (BBD), which was proposed as a plan for designing experiments and studying the behavior of the parameters. The optimal conditions, which encompass four parameters, namely ultrasonic time, reactor temperature, amount of nanocatalyst, and oxidant concentration, are archived as 14.43 min, 40.52 °C, 86.27 mg catalyst, and 24 % H2O2 Respectively. The results indicated that the removal efficiency was higher for 2- methylthiophene than 3-methylthiophene. The paper concludes that the UA-ECODS method utilizing the synthesized nanocatalyst is a promising and effective approach for desulfurizing of liquid hydrocarbon fuels.